I bought this Grammostola rosea about six months ago and she hasnt yet molted in my care. I know what it looks like when a spiderling is about to molt, but this is the oldest spider I own and I thought she might be having trouble molting. She hasnt been webbing alot but she has been sluggish and has stopped eating as much which makes me think she is trying to molt. Any info about this older spider would help.
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Question about an older spider molt
- Thread starter scjones22
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This species can go a few years in between molts once they reach adulthood.
May just be the lighting, but it looks like the skin that you can see (where the hair has been kicked off) is turning dark.
May just be the lighting, but it looks like the skin that you can see (where the hair has been kicked off) is turning dark.
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I agree with Becca..... it looks like she is in good condition..... and well fed... so I think she is just going to refuse food and get ready for a molt....
Well this rosea eats better than any spider I own. She eats about 3 large crickets a week and a pinky mouse once a month. She is also one of the largest roseas I have ever seen, somewhere between six and a half to seven inches. The more I think about it I believe that it may actually be the lighting because I am on break from college right now and im not at my apartment as much as I usually am so that may be part of it. I have heard that some adult spiders go months without eating, is this also another possibility?
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The record is two years or so.
That's a pretty heavy diet, the usual is more like two crickets a week and no mice (mice are INCREDIBLY filling/fattening, besides the calcium overdose controversy, blah blah vertebrate prey drama). If you've been feeding that much, yes it could just be full...because you've sped up the molting process, which happens when Ts are fed a lot. I'd say it's in premolt, you're looking at months of not eating followed by a molt, I'd bet money on it.
Just be aware that feeding Ts a heavy diet literally speeds up the aging process, lessening their time remaining accordingly. Good if you've got wee tiny slings you want to get to a less fragile size quickly, but it's something to stop and think about with a larger/older T.
